Charlotte Kool secured her first victory of the season on Thursday. The Dutch rider was the strongest in the mass sprint in the first stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour and also took the lead in the general classification.
This is Kool’s first victory since August 2024. At that time, the Team Picnic PostNL rider won the first and second stages of the Tour de France Femmes and was allowed to wear the yellow leader’s jersey for two days.
Due to long COVID and a broken collarbone, Kool was out of action for a long time. She made her return on March 30, and in April, she was already close to her first victory of the season. Then she had to settle for second place in the Scheldeprijs.
In the Baloise Ladies Tour, the 26-year-old Kool succeeded in winning the mass sprint on Thursday. In Knokke-Heist, she stayed ahead of the Italian Chiara Consonni and her compatriot Nienke Veenhoven. In the standings, she takes over the lead from Zoe Bäckstedt, who won the prologue on Wednesday.
Kool is riding the Ladies Tour as preparation for the Tour de France Femmes, which starts on July 26 in Vannes, France.